On Michael Landy’s Art Bin

I recorded an interview for this film on Newsnight, on Michael Landy’s Art Bin. I am not convinced of the merit of the work. It strikes me as a funeral for the Brit Art scene of the 1990s. Now, twenty years on, the Hirsts and Emins, donating their work, have nothing new to say and are destroying themselves. There is nothing intrinscially creative in destruction. Nor it is particularly original. Commentators have suggested this Landy piece is in a traditional of great artists. If this were the case, it wouldn’t make it a good thing, necessarily. Also, whilst it is true that artists like Jasper Johns destroyed their work, they went on to produce some great pieces. Their acts were only interesting because of what they later became. Johns was in his twenties when he reinvented his work by getting rid of the old, these guys are in their late 40s. It would be more interesting if they reflected on their experiences with maturity and some seriousness, and if they donated their unwanted works to the public spaces of Britain. The Art Bin is self-indulgent vandalism.

Art Bin contrasts with the Radio 4 series A History of the World told through objects from the British Museum. Admittedly, the series is uneven, but it wonderfully illustrates the development of human civilisations by discussing what peoples have created, all of which are both useful and beautiful.

Junk the Jargon

Junk the Jargon
Communication competition for postdoctoral researchers

I am a judge in the final of “Junk the Jargon”, a new competition for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers at Queen Mary University, designed to encourage academics to better communicate their research. Modelled on famelab, this is an excellent initiative and I am very pleased to be part of it.

The competition will be held in each Graduate School in January, and successful participants will go through to the final, held on Wednesday 27th January, from 5pm. Anyone not participating in the competition is encouraged to come and watch and support the finalists. A drinks reception will be held afterwards. Prizes of £500, £250 and £100 will be awarded for the top three presentations.

Newsnight Review

I was on Newsnight Review talking about art and climate change. Johan Hari, Simon Armitage, Jonathan Bate were on the panel as well, which was chaired by Martha Kearney.

We discussed the films 2012 and The Road, the exhibition Earth:art of a changing world, protest art, and the book The Magnetic North: Notes From the Arctic Circle by Sara Wheeler. You can watch the section on the films here, the section on the exhibition, Art of a Changing World, here , and the piece on the influence of climate change on nature writing here.

Interview with Mike Russell Minister for Culture, External affairs and the Constitution

Article in the Spectator

The unexpected hit of this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival was Mike Russell MSP, the SNP minister for culture, external affairs and the constitution. Surprisingly for a leading Scottish Nationalist, there was no mention of Rabbie Burns. Nor was it a populist pitch — bigging up bestselling Scottish writers like Irvine Welsh or Ian Rankin. Instead, he spoke of his love for the Chilean communist writer Pablo Neruda, the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, and even that pillar of Victorian imperialism, Alfred Lord Tennyson. Whatever you think of his politics, you can’t call Mike Russell parochial.

Click here to read the full article

Check the history before making demands

Article in the Scotsman

AT THE heart of a battle over culture, ownership and identity are 93 kings and queens, bishops and pawns, intricately carved out of walrus ivory and whales’ teeth.

The “Lewis Chessmen” were discovered on Lewis less than 200 years ago. They are thought to have been crafted in Scandinavia in the 12th century, and were probably buried for safekeeping by a merchant on his way to Ireland, although new research ventures they may have been owned by a Lewis nobleman

Scholars strike back at ‘economic impact’

Article in the Scotsman

DESPITE Labour’s promise that “education, education, education” would be its priority, when the then education minister, Charles Clarke, dismissed “the medieval concept of a community of scholars seeking truth” as “a bit dodgy” back in 2002, it became clear that the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake was judged as outmoded by our political masters.

The role of higher education has always been contested. But in recent times a war has been waged on its research remit. In the last ten years the purpose of the academy has been degraded. Universities have been turned into an instrument to improve the economy and create social cohesion. As a result, knowledge is compromised and students failed.

Who owns Culture?

WHO OWNS CULTURE?
Panel Discussion
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 6:30-8pm
LSE, New Academic Building, 54 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ
THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT

The LSE Law Department and the Institute of Ideas are hosting an event with James Cuno (President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago), Dr Tatiana Flessas (LSE Lecturer in Law with research interests in cultural property and heritage law), and Dr Maurice Davies, Deputy Director of the Museums Association. Dr Tiffany Jenkins will chair the discussion.

You can read my review of Whose Culture? by James Cuno here.

Artists, resist this propagandist agenda

Article on Spiked

ARTISTS, RESIST THIS PROPAGANDIST AGENDA

The relationship between culture and politics has never been straightforward. The arts have been used by leaders throughout history to bolster their status and authority, and to lend weight to concepts such as ‘the nation’. Artists, in turn, have used their talents to promote different agendas and to take sides in conflicts and revolutions. But, in recent times, this relationship has been formalised, made more explicit and prescriptive.

After the failures of the ‘war on terror’, politicians are now elevating the role of culture in international policymaking. And far from rejecting these advances, many cultural leaders – eager for affirmation and purpose – have embraced them, arguing that it is about time the positive impact of the arts on foreign relations was recognised.

Click here to read the full article

Critical thinking

Article in the THES

I spend every August in Edinburgh, immersed in the seven festivals that all take place in one month. Literature, theatre, comedy, music and art are all on show. But although one is presented with a feast of cultural riches, one question is left unanswered every year: what is exceptional and why?

There are the newspaper reviews, of course, the star system of the broadsheets and quick-fire fisking on the blogs. But much of it is short and simplistic, often nothing more than PR puff.

A good critical article – one that does more than repeat the story or deconstruct its meaning and reflects more broadly on artistic merit – is hard to find. That’s a problem, both for audiences who want recommendations, but also for a wider assessment of the works on show and their contribution to culture.

Click here to read the full article.

The Arts Council: the case for the defence

Article in the Spectator on the Arts Council.

The Arts Council is at risk. After over a decade of questionable goals and bureaucratic funding requirements, as well as the mismanagement of a series of cuts, voices have started to call for its abolition.

The past ten years have been peculiar times for the arts. Under the Labour government pots of money were thrown at culture. But strings came with this funding, requiring art to serve political ends. While there has been cash it has been less for culture and more for schemes promoting social inclusion, community issues and urban renewal.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE…